Be There with Bells On....

Unwrapping the present, I heard the faint jingling of bells from inside the box. Curious as to its contents, I looked up to see Jerry with a huge, toothy grin spread across his face. His excited anticipation immediately made me nervous. Knowing Jerry, anything could have been in that box! I had to stop myself from violently shoving the gift in his face at the last possible second as I assumed something would be flying out at me and latching onto my face! 

Finally making it through the tissue paper, preparing for the impending blow, I revealed a pair of feetie pajamas with skulls and crossbones and….bells. Yes, bells. Immediately, Jerry insisted that I put them on. Laughing hysterically, I put the pajamas on while Jerry videotaped me dancing around in them while Jingle Bells played in the background.

Anyone who knows Jerry knows what a sick sense of humor he has. When I was first diagnosed, Jerry worried about overnight hypoglycemia. He worried that Heather (the roomie) would not hear me if I happened to go into hypoglycemic convulsions. His solution: pajamas with bells! So in the event of a diabetic seizure, the ringing of bells would awaken others in the apartment (hence the skulls and crossbones). It sounds morbid. And it is! In that special twisted, Jerry kind of way.

That night, I surprised my family with Jerry’s pajamas. The dogs’ ears stood on alert as I jingled my way into the living room. We all laughed until tears rolled down our cheeks and we were gasping for air. It was the first opportunity since I was diagnosed for the family to really laugh about diabetes. Jerry gave that to us….in addition to a pair of ridiculous pajamas and a broken pasta maker.

There are many words one can use to describe Jerry. And I use the explicit ones fairly often. But there are some pretty wonderful ones too. Jerry has an uncanny ability to turn a situation around. This ability has definitely come in handy, especially lately. Dating me has not been easy. He has provided me with many bright moments during dark times. I only hope that I can eventually do the same for him.
 
And if feetie pajamas with bells somehow works into the equation, that’s even better!

Happy Valentine’s Day to one of my best friends and the reason I want to be a better person.